


Dashed Hopes

by sunaddicted



Series: Tumblr Prompts 2019 [21]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Drabble, Inner Dialogue, Light Angst, M/M, Suspicions, Tumblr Prompt, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 04:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20285566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunaddicted/pseuds/sunaddicted
Summary: He had arrived full of gifts - pearls of knowledge dripping from his lips like the richest honey; words heavy with magic that glittered like the mithril mined by expert dwarven hands in Khazad-Dum; fingers infused with the kind of fabled expertise that usually was sung in praise for his grandfather's craft.





	Dashed Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely @swilmarillion asked for Celebrimbor starting to suspect Annatar and convincing himself not to do so. 
> 
> This fill is terribly late, I'm sorry.

_Dashed Hopes_

"What's in the forest?"

Annatar raised an eyebrow at that impromptu question, seemingly blurted out without much thought; his fingers froze mid movement as if even the simple gesture of turning a page would prevent him from paying full attention to Tyelpe, digits firmly pressed against the the delicate paper.

Or maybe they had frozen in surprise and he was wondering about just how much Celebrimbor knew - wondering about how many pretty lies he would have to spun around the elf's mind, tricking him into a false sense of security once again.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Maybe.

"You tell me, you have spent your whole life here"

He had.

He had never visited the forest as assiduously and regularly as Annatar did, alone and in the dead of night when the moonshine was at its faintest; nor had he spent hours there, so long that he had often fallen asleep during his vigilant watch and woken up only to find Annatar completely rested, sitting at the breakfast table; neither had he ever felt the compulsive need to _lie_ about it - it was just a forest: it hardly was considered forbidden to wander it.

"Nothing of interest, I suppose"

Nothing anyone in Eregion had ever been interested in, anyway.

Nothing powerful.

Still, rumours abounded.

And Celebrimbor's faith in Annatar shook.

"Why the sudden curiosity?"

There were so many answers he could have given - actually, there were so many _questions_that he could have asked, prompted by Annatar's own; they burned on the tip of his tongue, one after the other. So fast that he lost track of them in the blink of an eye, melted away in the chaotic mass of confusion and doubt and desperate faith that swirled in his mind in an endless circle.

Annatar couldn't be... suspicious.

_Evil_.

He had arrived full of gifts - pearls of knowledge dripping from his lips like the richest honey; words heavy with magic that glittered like the mithril mined by expert dwarven hands in Khazad-Dum; fingers infused with the kind of fabled expertise that usually was sung in praise for his grandfather's craft.

He had arrived full of gifts and love he had been starving for.

Celebrimbor _needed_ to believe that Annatar was who he claimed to be - that his beauty wasn't just a mask but a reflection of the kind lover who kissed his temples and made him feel as if he was adored for the pure fact that he was himself and not because he was one of the greatest craftsmen of the Age.

Maybe the reason why he absconded to the forest was because he was in need for solitude from time to time.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Maybe.

"I don't know"

Annatar tilted his head to the side and closed the book, suspicion rising in his mind like the tide - he couldn't afford the elf to start doubting him; he already had strong voices spreading gossip about him, ladies and lords everyone wise and cautious usually paid attention to "You don't know?" He echoed, sliding into Tyelpe's lap to frame his face in his hands.

"I don't"

_Liar_.

Annatar smiled and leaned in for a kiss "You must have had a strange dream" which was possible but in any case, Annatar vowed to himself to accelerate the crafting of _the_ ring - it was a too important piece of his scheme.

A gamble he simply couldn't afford to take.

**Author's Note:**

> If you caught the Muse reference, you're my people.


End file.
